


Loyal

by JWade



Category: Supernatural
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-08-19
Updated: 2016-08-21
Packaged: 2018-08-09 20:39:43
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 13
Words: 20,838
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7816405
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/JWade/pseuds/JWade
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Sam is beyond taken by the janitor at Crawford hall, and can't help but pursue him. Gabriel thinks it's all a fun game at first, but then things get complicated.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This one starts off the same as my story Enigma, but goes a very different direction.

They had taken this job on pretty scanty evidence, but they had nothing better to do. A little preliminary work had them heading to the scene of the apparent suicide and possible haunting. Crawford Hall. They arrived just as the janitor seemed to be finishing up for the day. They were lucky they weren’t later or they would have had to break in, but maybe the janitor wouldn’t be a jerk about letting them in. “Hey…uh…Gabe,” Sam said reading the man’s nametag. “We’re running a little late today, but we were hoping you could let us into room 325 so we can check the wiring?”

“Sure thing,” he said cheerfully. “Follow me guys.”

Sam was a little surprised. Most people would be annoyed at being asked to stay late, especially for something like this, but this guy was just…happy. He had an air about him that made Sam wonder if he even knew how to frown. He tried to make small talk. “So how long have you been working here?”

“I’ve been mopping this floor for six years,” he said proudly as he let them into the office. “There you go, guys.” Sam smiled at him before pulling out his EMF meter. “What the heck’s that for?” he asked curiously.

“Just finding wires in the walls,” Sam lied easily and watched Gabe shrug and lean casually against the wall.

“Huh. Well. Not sure why you’re wiring up this office. Not gonna do the professor much good,” he said unconcernedly.

“Why’s that?” Dean asked despite knowing the answer, but they could find out what he knew.

Gabe seemed to have just noticed that Dean was there and said bluntly, “He’s dead.”

“Oh? What happened?” Dean asked interestedly.

“He went out that window, right there.”

Sam jumped back in the conversation seeing that Gabe wasn’t responding as well to Dean. “Yeah? Were you working that night?”

The janitor looked back to Sam with a smile, “I’m the one who found him.”

Sam couldn’t help but respond in kind. It was like it was impossible not to smile with this guy, even when talking about something so grim. “You see it happen?”

“Nope. I just saw him come up here, and uh…well…” he looked a little sheepish.

“What?” Sam prodded.

“He wasn’t alone,” he seemed almost embarrassed and looked up at Sam through his lashes.

“Who was he with?” Dean butted in.

Sam noticed Gabe frown at Dean seemingly annoyed and realized that he was flirting with him and couldn’t help grinning. “He was with a young lady. I told the police about her but I guess they never found her,” he said turning his attention back to Sam.

“You saw this girl go in, but did you ever see her come out?” Sam asked moving a little closer to test his theory.

“Now that you mention it? No,” the janitor said eyeing Sam up and down.

Sam felt like his theory was confirmed. The guy was definitely flirting. “You ever see her before? Around?” he asked flirtatiously.

“Not her,” Gabe said suggestively.

“What do you mean?” Dean butted in and Sam glared at him. He could be so oblivious sometimes. Sam was getting the information just fine and actually enjoying the little dance they had going.

“I don’t mean to cast aspersions on a dead guy, but uh…Mister Morality here? He brought a lot of girls up here. Got more ass than a toilet seat,” Gabe said.

Dean laughed loudly and Sam glared at him again before turning to see Gabe grinning at him and he returned it before asking, “One more thing. This building, it only has four stories, right?” It was completely obvious, but Sam wanted to drag out the conversation if he could.

“Yeah,” Gabe said.

“So there wouldn’t be a room six-six-nine?” Sam asked.

“Course not. Why do you ask?” Gabe asked him sliding a little closer.

“Ah, just curious. Thanks,” Sam said with a grin clapping him on the shoulder and letting his hand linger a moment longer than he needed to and Gabe grinned at him as they left. 

Gabriel watched them leave with something akin to amusement on his face. Time to see how good they really were. He had dazzled the younger with his charm and used his humor to hook the other. Let the games begin. 

As Sam and Dean headed out the front door of the building, Sam knew that the janitor wouldn’t be long. He had seemed to be heading out when they got there, so he turned to Dean and said, “You go ahead without me.”

Dean did a double take for a second before it dawned on him. “Seriously Sam? There are bars full of young hot co-eds and you wanna pick up the male janitor?” he asked incredulously. 

Sam just chuckled and shrugged. Dean was well aware of the fact that he was bisexual, but even he had to admit that this one was a little strange. On the rare occasions he went for one night stands his tastes didn’t usually go towards middle aged, blue collar men, no matter how gorgeous they happened to be. “More young hot co-eds for you I guess,” Sam joked causing Dean to roll his eyes and get in the car, leaving Sam standing on the curb for a moment before he walked back towards the building just as Gabe was locking the doors. 

“Sup kiddo,” he asked curiously. “You forget something?” Surely they weren’t THAT good. He hadn’t even done anything to give himself away yet. 

Sam bit back the cheesy pick-up line that came to mind and just went with the direct approach. “Nah. Just wondered if maybe you want to grab dinner or something,” he asked trying not to betray his nervousness. 

Gabriel raised an eyebrow nearly to his hairline. This was unexpected. He hadn’t thought he’d hooked the kid quite that hard, or that he would just come out and ask him out like that. Still. It was a tempting offer. He could get a little more of a read on the vessels and figure out what made them tick. It would add a few more levels to the game and he could totally get behind that. 

Apparently he was taking too long considering it because, Sam’s shoulder’s sank almost imperceptibly, and he said, “Never mind. It was a stupid idea,” as he started to walk away. 

Gabriel reached out and grabbed his wrist before he could get far. “Hold up a sec. You didn’t even give me a chance to answer,” he said with a slight smirk. 

Sam could feel a little blossom of hope as he stopped and turned back. “And?” 

“I am kinda hungry,” Gabriel said with a full smirk. “Where we going?” 

“I…um…” Sam wracked his brain for an idea.

“Hadn’t thought that far ahead?” Gabriel asked with a chuckle. Oh yeah. This was gonna be fun. When Sam shook his head sheepishly, Gabriel suggested a steak house around the corner that was open late and had a bar attached. The looser Sam got the more he would let slip. 

As they were walking companionably to the restaurant, Gabriel decided to get the ball rolling on the conversation. “So your…partner,” he stressed the word, “isn’t gonna get all jealous or anything is he?” 

Sam rolled his eyes. “Dean’s my brother. I’ll never figure out why everyone always thinks we’re a couple or something.”

Gabriel knew the truth of course so had a ready-made answer to that. “Maybe they can just see your brotherly bond and interpret it the best way they can since you don’t really look like brothers,” he suggested with a shrug. 

“Is that why you thought that?” Sam asked wondering if it really could be that simple. 

“Sure. I mean, it’s obvious to anyone who looks at you just how much you two care about each other. That’s why I was so surprised that you asked me out.” In fact, Gabriel had been beyond curious about what could possibly convince the righteous man to sell his soul in the first place, but five minutes with those two and he figured it out right away. 

They were walking into the restaurant now, so there was a pause as they got settled at the table and ordered their drinks, each choosing a different type of beer, Gabriel choosing the darker, stronger lager that was more reminiscent of the old days. Once they were settled, Sam said, “I’m surprised you said yes then.”

“I thought about playing it safe, but it’s not every day someone interesting asks a guy like me out. It would have been criminal to say no,” he said amusedly. 

“Interesting?” Sam laughed. “I’m just an electrician.”

“And I’m a janitor,” Gabriel lied just as easily as Sam had. “In the land of the blind, the one eyed man is king.”

“A janitor who quotes Nietzsche?” Sam asked with a raised eyebrow, knowing that wasn’t who said it, but wanting to see if Gabe knew. 

“Roterodamus actually, but you knew that,” Gabriel accused seeing and accurately interpreting the light in Sam’s eyes. 

Sam shrugged. “Not exactly common reading for a simple janitor,” Sam said emphasizing the job as if to say that Gabe was anything but. 

“I work in a college. Osmosis and all that,” Gabriel told him. If he really had been a janitor he probably would have played it up a little more, but he wanted to see how fast they would get onto him with minimal hints. Anything that got Sam thinking that he was more than he appeared would lead him to the truth faster. 

“Still. I’m impressed,” Sam told him, taking a chance and reaching over to take Gabe’s hand. They had both been clear that this was a date after all. No reason to be nervous about something so minor. 

“Then I shall endeavor to keep impressing you, young sir,” Gabriel said theatrically making Sam laugh and the hidden archangel realized that he was actually starting to enjoy himself.


	2. Chapter 2

The conversation turned to other things, Gabriel being careful not to back Sam into a corner with the lies, despite how easy it would be to do so. He was enjoying this game too much. He had the hunter hanging on his every word as he cranked the wit and charm up to eleven. After their meal and a few beers, Sam started getting a little loose, and Gabriel managed to get a few good childhood stories that explained oh so much. In particular why the brothers were so close. Raising a baby at four years old had to create some kind of special bond, and to have a brother who was both a brother and a father must have been much the same. Needless to say, Gabriel was getting what he wanted out of this evening. Insight into the vessels and how their minds worked. 

It was nearing midnight, when Sam suggested they leave. “I’ll walk you home?” he asked hopefully. He had learned that the janitor didn’t own a car and only lived three blocks away. 

“Why Sam, you really think it’s that easy to get in my pants?” Gabriel asked jokingly scandalized. “You buy me a nice meal and a few beers and then take me home?” 

“Well…no…I didn’t mean…” Sam started to stammer. 

Gabriel cut him off with a laugh. “I didn’t say no,” he pointed out. “Let’s go.”

Sam just shook his head and followed the shorter man out of the restaurant, taking his hand as they walked. Gabe definitely knew how to keep him off balance. It wasn’t often he met someone he couldn’t read and he found it intoxicating. 

Gabriel snapped his fingers and turned his apartment into something more befitting a simple janitor as he turned the key to let Sam and himself in. He hadn’t gone into this with the intention of sleeping with the hunter, but if it was on offer he wasn’t going to turn it down. 

Sam blamed the buzz from the alcohol for the fact that Gabe barely got the door closed behind him, before the hunter had him pressed against the wall kissing him senseless. Gabe hummed appreciatively into the kiss and tangled his hands in the hunter’s hair as he returned it. It wasn’t long before they had matching erections that were pressed tightly together and Sam started unbuttoning Gabe’s shirt. 

Gabriel’s shirt was about halfway unbuttoned before he gave a little push to back Sam up enough for him to slip away from the wall and he grabbed the hunter’s hand and led him back to the bedroom, kicking his shoes off along the way. Once they reached their destination, Gabriel plastered himself back against the hunter as Sam’s hands returned to his shirt and quickly had it sliding off his shoulders, before removing his own. Gabriel suspected that Sam liked being in control with these things, and it seemed he was right so Gabriel would let him…this time at least. 

Sam moved his lips to Gabe’s neck as his hand went to his pants and he got both of them stripped in short order before lifting Gabe up and the shorter man took the hint and wrapped his legs around Sam’s waist as the hunter walked them towards the bed laying Gabe down and continuing his assault on his neck and moving down to nip lightly over his collarbones as he whispered, “lube?” 

Gabriel made a show of reaching into the nightstand for what he really just materialized before pressing it into the hunter’s hand. Sam was just swirling his tongue around Gabriel’s nipple as the first slick finger entered his ass, going straight for the sweet spot and causing Gabriel to arch up off the bed with a keening moan. Sam continued paying attention to first one nipple and then the other as he worked his finger in and out, picking up speed and gradually moving lower.   
Sam inserted the second finger at the same time as he licked a long hard line up the underside of Gabe’s cock before taking him deep in his throat, surprising himself when he managed. This wasn’t the first cock he’d sucked, by a long shot, but it was the biggest. He had Gabe worked up into a frenzy before he inserted a third finger and started pumping hard and fast. It wasn’t long from there before he was removing his fingers and slicking up his own cock, capturing Gabe’s lips with his own as he slid slowly in with a deep moan. 

Gabriel lifted his hips, pulling Sam in even deeper as he echoed the hunter’s moans. Between the fact that Gabriel had already been on edge and the fact that it had been so long since Sam had gotten any, they were both in danger of finishing far sooner than they wanted to. Gabriel could tell that Sam was having trouble holding on, especially when the hunter reached between them and started stroking him in time with his thrusts and Gabriel let himself go as he came over Sam’s hand and quickly felt the hunter’s release inside him. 

As Sam slowly removed his softening cock from Gabriel’s ass, the pseudo janitor reached over and grabbed his hastily discarded boxers to clean them up and Sam settled on the bed next to him. Gabriel rolled to his side as they were catching their breath and asked, “You staying?” surprising himself with the fact that he hoped the answer was yes. 

Sam bit his lower lip. “I shouldn’t,” he said as though waiting for something to contradict him. Some reason to stay. 

“But you can,” Gabriel said reaching out and running a hand over Sam’s chest as he moved closer. 

“Do you want me to?” Sam asked hopefully. 

What else could Gabriel say but, “Yes.” 

Sam grinned and relaxed on the bed, reaching out to pull Gabe to his side and the smaller man, rested his head on Sam’s shoulder as the hunter’s arm tightened around him. “Then I’ll stay.”

It didn’t take long for Sam to fall asleep and Gabriel to be cursing himself for bringing it up. It wasn’t that he didn’t enjoy laying with the hunter as he slept. It was nice sometimes to have a warm living body, and more importantly, a warm living soul to snuggle up to, but he had things to do tonight. Things that he couldn’t do from the comfort of Sam’s arms. Well technically he could do them from here, but it wouldn’t be nearly as satisfying and he refused to let this ill-advised dalliance take that away from him. 

A few hours later he had come up with a believable excuse should Sam wake and find him missing and he headed out to play his next trick. Sure enough, not long after he left Sam woke up to find himself in bed alone. He waited a few minutes, thinking Gabe was in the bathroom, but when he didn’t come back he called out a sleepy, “Gabe?” He still didn’t get a response so he got up to look around. Where would he have gone at….Sam looked at the clock. Four in the morning. 

Sam had just come to the conclusion that he had left to go somewhere and the hunter sat on the couch contemplating his next course of action when the door opened and Gabe strolled back in. “Where were you?” Sam asked, taking care to keep the question more curious than annoyed or worried or anything else, firmly aware that it was really none of his business beyond the fact that he was a little uncomfortable having been left alone in the man’s apartment. 

Gabriel shrugged sheepishly, having perfected this routine centuries ago. “I get a little restless at night. Sometimes taking a walk helps. Sorry. I didn’t mean to wake you.”

Sam steadfastly ignored his worry about Gabe walking alone that late at night. He had to keep reminding himself that he wasn’t supposed to be getting attached here. Besides that, he knew as well as anyone that it was usually the little ones you had to watch out for. He couldn’t count the number of times he had underestimated someone based on their size and ended up regretting it. He supposed that they tended to be targets often so had to compensate somehow and he’d be willing to bet that Gabe was just as scrappy as the best of them. That decided, he just shook his head and said, “Just be careful. You coming back to bed or you up for the day?” 

“I could sleep a few more hours,” Gabriel said, ignoring the warmth he felt at Sam’s concern and they headed back to bed.


	3. Chapter 3

It was a little bit before eight am when Sam was woken by his phone. He reached over to the nightstand where he had put it when he got up earlier, and tried to answer it without disturbing the sleeping man curled up to his side. He knew that Dean would hear him pick up and that he didn’t need to say anything and sure enough, no sooner than he answered he heard, “Where are you?” 

Apparently either the ringing phone or Sam’s movements or both had roused Gabe because he murmured sleepily, “Wha’sup?”

“Never mind,” Dean said wryly having his question answered. “You do realize that when you have a one-night stand you’re actually supposed to…you know…leave?” 

“Yeah whatever,” Sam muttered. “That all you called for?” 

“No. We gotta get to work,” Dean told him suddenly all business.

“I thought we were done?” Sam asked now completely awake. They had decided that this was all a bust and were going to head out after breakfast Sam thought. 

“We were. But then something else happened last night and there is definitely something strange going on here,” Dean told him. 

“Like what?” Sam asked. 

“You wouldn’t believe me. Just come to work with your boyfriend. We’ll meet there.”

“Yeah. Sure,” Sam told him and hung up. 

Gabriel hid his smirk as he asked, “What’s up?” more awake now. 

“Just got another job in the area. I could walk you to work and meet my brother there if that’s okay?” Sam suggested. 

“Okay,” Gabriel said with a shrug before making a show of looking at his alarm clock. “Got an extra ten minutes. Wanna double up in the shower?” he asked with a waggle of his eyebrows. Sam didn’t need to be asked twice. 

Sam stepped into the shower after Gabe and slid behind him, wrapping his arms around the lithe man while kissing his neck and running his hands over Gabe’s stomach and chest as they stood under the spray. Once they were good and wet, Sam grabbed the shampoo and started massaging it into Gabe’s hair, digging his fingers in good. 

This was definitely a first for Gabriel and he couldn’t deny how pleasurable it was. No one had ever washed his hair before. Maybe when all this was over he would start going to some of those hair salons and getting people to wash it for him from time to time. It was…nice. He hummed contentedly as he leaned back against the hunter, just enjoying the attention and the scalp massage. When Sam was done with Gabriel’s hair he went to wash his own hair while Gabriel grabbed the rag and started washing the rest of him, and by the time he was all lathered up, Sam was done with his hair and he started doing the same for the hunter, pressing against him and kissing him as he got Sam’s back and ass and then going to his knees and sucking Sam’s hard cock as he washed the hunter’s legs. 

That done, Gabriel used the combination of the water and soap to lube up his fingers as he spread Sam’s legs and slid a finger in, causing Sam’s hand to tighten in Gabriel’s wet hair. He prepped the hunter quickly before spinning him around and sliding his cock inside the tight heat while pressing kisses and nips over Sam’s back and shoulders and reaching around to stroke Sam’s cock. He would have loved to drag this out a little more but he had to keep his cover which meant they didn’t have much time before he needed to get to ‘work’, so he worked fast and when Sam cried out his release, painting the shower wall in white, Gabriel spilled over inside Sam, biting the hunter’s shoulder. They rested there for a moment, panting while the shower washed away the evidence of their activities. “Fuck, Sam. You’re gonna be the death of me,” Gabriel joked breathlessly. 

Sam turned slightly in Gabe’s arms and pulled him in for a kiss as the water started to get colder. “Join the club,” he joked back before Gabe reached back and turned off the water. Sam grimaced as he put his clothes from yesterday back on, but he didn’t exactly have a change here so there wasn’t much choice. Hopefully he would get a chance to go back to the motel and change later. 

They headed to the kitchen and Gabriel turned to Sam and asked, “Cereal or oatmeal?” 

“Oatmeal. And do you have any fruit?” he asked hopefully. 

Gabriel bit his lip as he rummaged in the previously empty cabinet. “This one has strawberries in it?” he offered helpfully. 

Sam chuckled and just said, “That works. Thanks Gabe.”

Gabriel grabbed his own chocolate cereal, which hopefully wasn’t too obvious, and managed to use regular milk instead of his usual chocolate milk and they had a companionable breakfast before walking the four blocks to Crawford Hall. 

“Wonder what’s going on there?” Sam asked seeing the crowd out front. 

“There’s no telling around here,” Gabriel lied easily. “Hey, there’s your brother,” he pointed out waiting in front of the building. Sam waved before pulling Gabriel in for a quick kiss. “If you’re still in town tonight, you’re welcome to join me for dinner or whatever else,” Gabriel offered. 

“I’m sure I’ll take you up on that,” Sam said with a grin before walking over to Dean as Gabe headed inside. Once the little janitor was out of sight, Sam was cursing himself for that. He shouldn’t be seeing Gabe again. It would just make it harder when it was time to leave. He had never anticipated getting this attached after one night with the man. 

Little did Sam know, Gabriel was thinking the same thing. He couldn’t believe he was dragging this out. What was wrong with him? It could only end badly. When Sam found out what he was, or at least what he was pretending to be, there would be no forgiveness there. Not to mention how stupid it was to be getting involved with one of the vessels in the first place. It was reckless and complicated and so not his MO. 

“So what’s up?” Sam asked as he walked up to Dean.

“Come on,” Dean told him not giving him any details, but walking over to the crowd on the lawn. 

When Sam saw the crater he said dumbfounded, “Looks like it was made by some kind of jet engine.”

“Some kid says he was abducted by aliens here last night,” Dean told him. 

“Oh come on. That’s ridiculous. Maybe some science kids were playing around with rockets or something, or he did this himself as some sort of prank, but aliens?” Sam asked incredulously. 

They hadn’t really bothered keeping their voices down so the gathered crowd heard them and most started moving off, having been given some explanation of what could have happened that was far less interesting, but far more plausible than aliens. Some of them had intentions of asking their science friends about any rockets that may or may not have been in the courtyard of Crawford Hall last night. 

Once they were alone, Dean said, “I know you’re probably right but we still need to check it out.”

“Okay. Fine. We’ll put a few hours into it, but I’m not wasting all night on it,” Sam said firmly. 

“Why? Got another hot date with the janitor?” Dean teased. 

“Maybe,” Sam said with a smirk and Dean just rolled his eyes. He knew Sam was setting himself up for a fall when they left here, but there was nothing he could do about it. Even pointing it out would be useless since Sam obviously knew the same thing himself. 

They tracked down the kid who was ‘abducted’ and even Sam couldn’t deny that something had happened to him. Something traumatic, and Sam could see that at the very least, he believed his own story. It was rare that anyone could successfully lie to Sam, and he was certain that this stupid frat boy could never pull it off. By the time five o’clock was nearing they were completely lost, so Sam headed out to meet Gabe, telling Dean to call Bobby for help and he would meet back up with him the next day. 

Sam arrived at Crawford Hall just as Gabriel was locking up. When he turned and saw Sam, he grinned. “Can’t get enough of me huh?” he joked as the hunter came up and gave him a short kiss in greeting. 

“Nope. Sure can’t,” Sam agreed with a grin of his own. “So you know this area better than me. Where we going tonight?” 

“There aren’t too many places around that aren’t college kid hangouts, but there is this one little hole in the wall that almost no one knows about that has the best burgers on the planet,” Gabriel suggested, not even exaggerating all that much and he would know.


	4. Chapter 4

They had a pleasant meal, and Sam didn’t drink nearly as much this time, but they hung around the restaurant/bar for hours, just talking about everything from their lives, heavily edited on both sides of course, movies and television, politics, philosophy, and everything in between. When they left at almost eleven, they headed back to Gabriel’s apartment, Sam suddenly very glad he had taken the time to stop by the motel and change before he went to meet Gabriel. Wearing the same clothes three days in a row would be disgusting. 

Gabriel led them to the bedroom where they both, seemingly in agreement took their time undressing each other slowly. They both knew that this might be their last night together and wanted to make it great. 

Sam lowered Gabriel gently on the bed and slid on top of him, reaching his hand down to start opening him up as he kissed him deeply, paying ample attention to his neck and shoulders as well, but not venturing lower. He wanted it to last this time. He wanted it to be slow and special and holy fuck he was screwed. How the hell had he fallen for the guy in just two days? He supposed if there were ever anyone he could fall so completely for so fast it would be Gabe. With his ever-present and infectious joy, his intelligence, his ability to have a deep discussion at the same time as playing a good joke, and the way he could keep Sam on his toes as so few people could do, it was really no surprise that he had fallen for him. 

“Sam?” Sam started a bit, noticing that he had stilled with the realization and began his ministrations again. This was gonna hurt like a bitch, but what else could he do. The brief thought of giving up hunting and settling down crossed his mind, but he pushed it aside to consider later. Once Gabe was ready, Sam nudged him to flip over, and once he had his knees under him, Sam entered slowly before reaching down and pulling Gabe up so that his back was flush against him. Sam rolled his hips as his hands wandered over Gabe’s chest and stomach and thighs and just every part of him he could reach, as his lips wandered with the same purpose. 

They stayed like that for a long time. Moving slowly, in no rush to end things, but no one can last forever and eventually the pace picked up, Sam’s hand ventured to Gabe’s cock and they were both moaning their release. When they collapsed on the bed, spent, Sam turned to Gabe. “Am I staying?” he asked hopefully. He knew it would just be harder when it came time to go, but he didn’t want to let go just yet. 

“If you want,” Gabriel said, knowing this was getting out of hand, but unable to say no. Sam just smiled and pulled Gabriel close as he closed his eyes with a smile. Gabriel was ‘asleep’ soon after, having perfected this act as well, but he noticed that it was a long time before the hunter drifted off, and wondered what he was thinking about. 

Sam’s hand roamed gently over Gabe’s back and arm as he considered his options here. He realized that until the yellow-eyed demon was dead, there was no way he was going to be able to give up hunting, but maybe he could have a home base. He could research and stuff from here, get his own car and meet up with Dean when they had a case. Really they spent more time sitting around between cases than they did actually on one so it wouldn’t be such a stretch. He looked down at the mop of blonde hair as he thought that option through. That would involve a lot more lies to Gabe though. He would have to come up with much better stories about why he was traveling so much and electrician wouldn’t cut it. Maybe federal agents and they had been undercover when they met? That might work and hopefully garner him forgiveness for the lie…by telling another lie. Sam bit back a groan. Why was this so hard? Maybe he could tell Gabe the truth. What he really did for a living. It hadn’t worked out so well the one time Dean tried it, but Gabe seemed pretty open-minded and a lot stronger than anyone would think just looking at him. Maybe he could handle it. But maybe he couldn’t and he would lose everything anyway. 

Maybe he could just leave like he was supposed to, hunt down the yellow-eyed demon with a new vengeance and then get out when it was done, come back, and hope Gabe still wanted him. The problem with that was, their father had spent over twenty years hunting him in vain. Who knew how long it would take? And whether Gabe would even be here when he got back. What if it took another twenty years and he missed his chance? Could he risk that? He had a chance at happiness with Jessica and he threw it away by leaving with Dean that night. How many more chances would he get? What if this was the last one? He hadn’t really decided anything by the time he finally drifted off to sleep, but he still had time. They still had to finish this case anyway. 

Gabriel waited about an hour after Sam finally drifted off to head out to work. Like last night, Sam woke up not long after he left and he found the hunter sitting on the couch waiting for him when he came back in. Sam did a double take at the dog that followed him in. “That’s new,” Sam said. 

“Yeah. Little guy found me and followed me home. I couldn’t just leave him out there,” Gabriel said, for once mostly honest. Once he’d freed and healed all the animals in the lab, this one hadn’t wanted to leave him. 

“You gonna keep him?” Sam asked curiously. 

“Not sure yet. He might have owners out there worried about him, and I’m not sure if I have the time to devote to a dog. I’ll figure it out,” he replied. He would have to see how well the little guy did with flying around with him before he decided. He had walked home since it wasn’t far when he realized the dog was attached. Sam shrugged like that made sense and they headed back to bed. They had only been settled back in the bed for an hour when Sam’s phone started ringing so he pretended to be asleep like usual. 

Sam groaned as he rolled over to grab the phone. “What?” he answered in an annoyed whisper, trying not to wake Gabe. 

“We got an emergency. Whatever this thing is it dropped another body,” Dean told him. 

“Can’t it wait until morning?” Sam asked hopefully already knowing what the answer would be. 

“No. It can’t. Now tell me where you are and I’ll come pick you up,” Dean said shortly. 

Sam gave him the address before gently extricating himself from the bed. Gabriel rolled over and said, “Sneaking out on me huh?” and how he managed a joking tone along with a half asleep one Sam would never figure out. 

Sam leaned over and kissed him. “Sorry. Didn’t mean to wake you. Just an emergency call. Go back to sleep babe,” he said softly, running his fingers through Gabe’s hair one more time as he grabbed his clothes and headed out. 

He got dressed in the living room so he wouldn’t have to turn the light on in the bedroom, and checked the dog’s water and refilled it on his way out and he was headed out the door to the building when Dean pulled up. When Dean said they were going to look at the body, Sam said disgruntled, “You realize he’ll be just as dead at a reasonable hour right?” 

“So sorry Samantha. Your boy toy wear you out?” Dean teased. “This way we don’t have to bluff our way in. We can just break in.”

Sam had to admit that it was easier. Or more like he didn’t want to admit it so he just didn’t say anything at all. When Dean came up with his alligator in the sewer theory, Sam scoffed, and Dean pointed out that it wasn’t any stupider than aliens or non-existent girls, and so their entire morning was spent crawling around the sewers looking for a mythical alligator and by the time they crawled out and showered, Sam was in an even worse mood and that was saying something. It ended up with him and Dean having a huge fight just before Bobby got there, which just prompted another fight because Dean hadn’t told Sam that he was coming and he didn’t tell Dean to call Bobby to do their job for them, just for advice. 

When Bobby brought up the idea of the trickster, Sam’s mind immediately went to Gabe, and he hated himself for it. That didn’t stop him from lashing out at Dean when he suggested it though. After pumping Sam for information on Gabe and what his apartment was like, what he ate, how he slept, and anything else he could think of, the best they could come up with was a maybe. Dean insisted on checking him out for himself.


	5. Chapter 5

Sam and Dean headed back to Crawford Hall to presumably check something else out, and Sam was hoping and praying that Gabe wasn’t the trickster they were after. He didn’t know what he’d do if he was. Gabe led them up the stairs, saying, “Sorry I’m dragging a little ass today boys. Busy night last night, if you catch my drift,” he added with a wink to Sam. Sam blushed a bit but he knew that Gabe meant the interruption as much as the sex. 

Sam made his excuses to head ‘back to the truck’ while he went to check Gabe’s locker. He had told Dean there wouldn’t be anything there. If the guy was smart enough to keep his apartment clean of anything incriminating, why would he leave stuff around in his locker? Truth be told though, he was much more comfortable with the idea of him going through Gabe’s stuff than Dean, and Dean wanted a conversation with him, to try and get a read on him. Sam told him that was useless too. If Sam couldn’t get a read on Gabe, then Dean would surely fail. 

By the time they left, Dean was sure that it was Gabe they were after, despite any real evidence to point to the fact. Sam still thought the fact that he read Weekly World News was pretty scant evidence. They had, however, agreed to a plan of action ahead of time if Dean was convinced of Gabe’s guilt. They had tried to leave Sam out of it, but the younger hunter wouldn’t have it. After a lot of arguing and threatening on both sides, they agreed that Sam would wait outside the doors with Bobby while Dean checked things out. The only way he would allow it is if he was there to step in if things got out of hand. Step in on who’s side was left open, and all three of them noticed that omission. 

When Gabriel noticed Dean’s suspicion he was both happy and sad. Apparently they were pretty quick on the uptake. He was sure he hadn’t made any real mistakes. There was the MO that obviously pointed to trickster, but nothing to point to him specifically. If they were quick then there was a better chance of the world getting out of this in once piece. On the other hand, it meant the end of whatever he had going with Sam. He had no illusions that the hunter would forgive something like this, no matter how much fun they’d had. Regardless, the show must go on. As they pretended to leave, Gabriel sighed and got everything set up for the finale. 

As Dean walked in Sam could hear the horrible porn music wafting from the room. That was the first sign that Dean was right. That Gabe was a trickster, but he couldn’t help a fond smile. It was so like Gabe. He heard a seductive woman’s voice say, “We've been waiting for you, Dean.”

“Y-Y-You guys aren't real,” he heard his brother’s voice stammer and he rolled his eyes. Leave it to Dean to be turned on anyway. 

“Trust me, sugar, it's gonna feel real,” another woman’s voice said. Figures Gabe would give him two. Way to act out every fantasy Dean had ever had. 

“Come on. Let us give you a massage,” the first woman said. 

“Wha... You know, I'm a – I'm a sucker for a happy ending. Really, I am, but... I-I'm gonna have to pass.” Sam took a moment to marvel at the willpower it must have taken for Dean to say no to that.

Then Sam heard Gabe’s voice. Until that point some part of him had held out hope that it wasn’t Gabe they were hunting and the timing of this whole charade was just a coincidence. Not anymore though and he felt his heart sink. “They're a peace offering. I know what you and your brother do. I've been around a while. Run into your kind before.” And just like that Sam knew that he had never had Gabe fooled. He had known the entire time who they were and why they were there, and those late night ‘walks’ were just him rubbing Sam’s face in it. 

“Well, then you know that I... can't let you just keep hurting people,” Dean said and Sam was glad that there was at least some hesitation in his brother’s voice and he held out hope that this could be resolved peacefully. A fool’s hope most likely, but hope just the same. 

“Come on! Those people got what was coming to them. Hoisted on their own petards. But you and Sam – I like you. I do. So treat yourself... Long as you want. Just long enough for me to move on to the next town,” Gabe drawled and Sam felt the panic settling in, and funny enough, it had nothing to do with Gabe being the trickster. It was about Gabe planning to leave. To disappear never to be seen again. He couldn’t let that happen and he hated himself for not being able to let go. Even now. Even in the face of everything, he couldn’t let go. 

“Yeah, i don't think I can let you do that,” Dean said apologetically. 

“I don't wanna hurt you. And you know that I can,” Sam did smile at that. Even in the face of being threatened, he was still trying to resolve this without hurting Dean and Sam couldn’t help but hope that at least some small part of that was because of him. 

“Look, man, I – I got to tell you, I dig your style, all right? I mean, I do. I mean (whew) ... and the slow-dancing alien…“ Leave it to Dean to try and make the guy feel better before he staked him and that part he knew was for his sake. 

“One of my personal favorites. Yeah.” Sam heard his lover’s ringing laughter and, just like every other time he’d heard it, he felt like everything was going to be okay somehow. 

“But, uh, I can't let you go,” Dean said stubbornly and Sam could practically see him pulling out the stake to threaten Gabe with, and he couldn’t stay back anymore. 

Sam burst into the room and said, “What, you’re not even going to hear him out?” 

“Hear him out?” Dean asked incredulously snapping his head around to look at Sam. “He admitted that he’s killing people. What possible justification could there be for that?!” 

Gabriel just sat there in shock looking at Sam like he was a bug under a microscope. Sam was defending him? Sam knew what he was and what he had done here and was still defending him? On what planet did this make sense? He did a quick check to make sure he hadn’t somehow ended up in some alternate universe by accident. Not that it had happened often, but occasionally when he got exceptionally drunk…but no. He was sober and in the right universe. 

“I don’t know, but I intend to hear him out at least,” Sam said digging in his figurative heels as Bobby came into the room and just stood at the door watching the drama. 

That was the last straw for Dean. Bad enough him defending those veggie vamps. They weren’t actively hurting people, but Dean knew they would. Everyone falls off the wagon sometimes, and every person they ever killed from that point on would fall squarely on his conscience. He let Sam talk him into letting them go. He’d convinced himself that it was just Sam being his usual bleeding heart self, but this? This was different. This was something actively killing people and Sam was standing here defending it. He remembered his father’s words about having to save Sam or kill him. He remembered Gordon’s words about Sam turning on his own race and becoming a killer. He remembered covering up for Sam when he was possessed by the demon, but was that even real? Oh he knew that they had exorcized a demon from him, that much was obvious, but how long had it been there? He found it hard to believe that Sam hadn’t even been able to fight through the possession long enough for a phone call for a week. He found himself second-guessing everything. Was he really overlooking the obvious because of brotherly affection? Was Sam really not human anymore like Gordon said and his father had implied? And if he wasn’t human was he even still Dean’s brother? There was too much evidence cropping up to support their views. The Sam he knew; the Sam that he would have fought and died for; would never stand here defending a monster that was killing people. 

With that thought, his decision was made. “Here’s the way this is going to work Sam. You have two choices. You can either stand aside and let Bobby and I finish this and we all go home and forget it ever happened, or Bobby and I leave here without you, letting you…both of you…live just this once for any lingering brotherly affection, in which case, next time we meet all bets are off. Those are your choices.”

“And what about my offer. We hear him out and then decide,” Sam suggested, trying to keep his heartbreak at the ultimatum from showing. He had never expected Dean of all people to threaten to disown him, and the fact that Bobby wasn’t speaking up in his defense said volumes itself. He was usually the voice of reason when they fought. 

“There is no justification…none…for killing human beings, and if you think there is, then you’re too far gone for me to save,” he said pointedly reminding Sam of their father’s instructions. “Now choose.”


	6. Chapter 6

Gabriel sat there and watched the back and forth with growing confusion. Sam was actually considering it. He was considering choosing Gabriel over his family, his job, his whole life. Gabriel was struck dumb with emotion at the very thought. Even if Sam chose to leave him to his fate, the fact that it was even an option had Gabriel rethinking so many things. He knew he couldn’t let this happen though. He couldn’t let Sam throw everything away for him. He wasn’t worth it. “Go on kid. Listen to your brother. I’ll be fine,” he tried to reassure him. After all, nothing they had would kill him anyway. 

Sam was torn. On one hand, walking away without even hearing Gabe out just felt wrong in every way. He’d already walked out on one chance to be happy thanks to Dean. Jessica wasn’t good enough because she was too pure. Gabe wasn’t good enough because he was the opposite. He just wanted to be able to make his own decisions damn it. Would anyone ever be good enough as far as Dean was concerned? On the other hand, who even said that Gabe would want something real with him even if he liked what he heard when he listened to what the trickster had to say. What if he let Dean and Bobby leave, heard Gabe out, and agreed with them? He would have lost them for nothing and then he would feel the need to clean up the mess and he would be doing it alone. Then again, if he did so, they would probably forgive him. Maybe. He didn’t make up his mind until he heard Gabe telling him to listen to Dean. To go with his family and he knew then that Gabe cared. That there could really be something there if he gave it a chance and there was no way he was going to let his brother ruin what could be his last chance at having something worthwhile in his life. “No. I’m going to hear him out. I’m going to at least listen and if you feel the need to disown me for that, then that’s on you. Not me,” he said firmly, standing his ground. 

Three jaws dropped at that announcement. None of them could believe their ears. “Next time we meet, all bets are off, Sam. Remember that,” Dean said threateningly as he turned to leave, Bobby following with a disappointed look back at Sam. 

Gabriel just watched Sam in shock as he stood there and watched his brother and surrogate father leave, and he recognized the emotion that welled up in him as love. That’s why he knew better than to get involved with Sam in the first place. He always got attached too easily. There was a reason he usually made do with company that he created rather than the real thing and this was exactly why. He let people get to him. He always had. It was why he had left heaven. It was why he had left Asgard. It was why he had left Kali. He let people get to him and then they inevitably hurt him. Never though…never in his millions of years had someone stood up for him. Never had anyone sacrificed everything they’d ever known for him and he didn’t know how to handle it. This was all just supposed to be a game. A test for the vessels. It had gotten way out of hand. 

Gabriel watched helplessly as Sam crumbled as soon as the others left and he instantly transported himself to the hunter’s side to make sure he hit a seat instead of the floor, dematerializing all of his creations at the same time. “Sam?” he asked worriedly. “You okay? You want me to go get them? Tell them you changed your mind?” 

“No,” Sam said shaking his head. “I just…I need…” he couldn’t form any more words at that moment and he was trying desperately to hold back the tears that were threatening to fall. He didn’t want to cry in front of Gabe. Not now. 

“How about I take you back to my place and we just relax for a while before we talk,” Gabriel suggested softly. 

Sam nodded. It wasn’t like he had anywhere else to go anymore. He was struck with the idea that for the first time in his life, he had nothing. Literally nothing. Even all his clothes and weapons were in Dean’s car. For his whole life, that car had been home, and then Stanford, but now…he didn’t know where to go. All he had to hold onto was the man, or whatever he was, that was holding him in his arms and before he knew it the cold walls of the auditorium had shifted into the warm homey apartment that Gabe lived in. That just drove home the fact that Gabe wasn’t human. That he was everything that Sam had been taught his entire life to hate and he realized that he didn’t care. He didn’t care what Gabe was. He had made his choice. Somehow, that acceptance spawned the tears that he could no longer block. He was vaguely aware of Gabe pulling Sam so that he was lying with his head in the trickster’s lap and his fingers were running through his hair, and that just opened the flood gates even farther. 

Gabriel could think of nothing to do but get Sam back to his apartment. To fix him somehow. He had to. He could never repay the hunter. He could never make up for what Sam lost, but he could give him something. He would give Sam everything he could. He would make this as right as he could manage because he realized his own fault in this. He had let Sam get close. He had let all of this happen. He should have known better. He should have been more forceful when telling Sam to choose Dean. He could have forced him to go. There were a hundred ways he could have done it and Sam would have been none the wiser. He should have kept their relationship to sex only. He shouldn’t have let Sam stay. He should have said no the first time Sam asked him out even. His curiosity had gotten him into this in the first place and his heart had kept him in it until it all inevitably came crashing down and it was all his fault.

After a good while, Gabriel could tell that Sam was trying not to let himself fall asleep. It was only natural after such a good long cry to need to sleep. At least from what he understood of humans, so he just said, “Shh. Sleep, Sam.”

“Need to talk,” was Sam’s only response. 

Gabriel knew what his concern was. What he was afraid of, so he said, “It’ll be okay. I won’t do anything or go anywhere until after we talk. You have my word. Just sleep Sam.” It said a lot about Sam’s trust that he accepted him at his word, even after all the lies and secrets, and let himself drift off and Gabriel vowed then and there that he would never betray Sam’s trust. No matter what. 

He sat there on the couch with the television on low while Sam slept with his head in Gabriel’s lap. Not that he could say what exactly had been on said television. His thoughts were on the man in his lap as he made a few decisions. First of all, if Sam didn’t like his explanations. If he ended up agreeing that Gabriel should die, then he would hand the hunter a stake, and stand there while he ran Gabriel through with it, leave him a body to take back to his brother and try and get back in their good graces. That was the least he could do. If Sam accepted him as is, then he would tell the hunter that he loved him and spend the rest of Sam’s life trying to make him as happy as possible, and kill anyone, even his brothers, who tried to take that away. The hard part would be if Sam tried to change him. If he accepted his reasons as an excuse but asked him to stop. To be something he wasn’t. That would be the worst case, because that was the one thing that Gabriel couldn’t do. That he wouldn’t do. He hoped that Sam wouldn’t ask it of him. By the time Sam started to stir, Gabriel had something he could admit that he should have had from the first day he set this whole thing up. A solid plan.


	7. Chapter 7

Sam woke and sat up, looking at Gabe, searching for any judgement in his golden eyes. Some sign that he thought less of Sam for his little breakdown, but he only saw compassion and respect and he couldn’t help but smile. “So…um…I guess we should talk…” he let hang. 

“First let me feed the dog. I didn’t want to disturb you by getting up to do it earlier,” Gabe said as he got up to do just that. He had promised not to do anything until after they talked, so he refrained from all use of his powers, not being sure just how Sam had taken that promise. 

“So…the dog is real?” Sam asked. 

“Yeah,” Gabriel said sitting back down next to Sam. “I rescued him from that torture room that scientist called a lab. There were a lot of animals there that I healed, but they all seemed happy to be free. This little guy though just didn’t want to leave me,” Gabriel said fondly looking back at said dog who was barely more than a puppy. 

“You healed them? What was wrong with them?” Sam asked, feeling like they were getting to what they needed to discuss in a tangential way. 

“Well, Oreo here for instance, he had two broken legs, one eye that was ripped out of his head, both of his ears had been cut off, three broken ribs, and a myriad of diseases that would have been bad enough on their own. Most of the other animals were in similar shape.”

“What the hell kind of experiments was he doing in there?!” Sam asked, indignantly disgusted. 

“Very few actual experiments, unless you count his own personal experiments on how much he enjoyed their screams. He did just enough real science to keep the university off his back and keep the test subjects coming. No one noticed or cared what else he was doing to them.”

“So that’s why you killed him?” Sam asked. 

“His soul was completely blackened, Sam. The only reason he wasn’t targeting humans is because he didn’t think he could get away with it. At least not so easily. There wasn’t enough human left in him to redeem,” Gabriel told him hoping that Sam would understand. 

“You can see souls?” Sam asked in awe. 

That was a power that many of the more powerful gods had in addition to angels so he was comfortable with answering that honestly. “Yes. I can. And I can see which souls are capable of redemption, and as long as there is a chance, however slim, I give them that chance.”

“So the kid with the aliens…” Sam prompted. 

“Was a horrible, disgusting, pitiful excuse for a human being and the world would probably be better off without him in it, but there was still a spark of light in his soul. Enough that he could potentially turn himself around, so I taught him a lesson he wouldn’t soon forget and hopefully he takes it to heart and makes something decent of himself.”

“And the professor…the one who jumped out the window?” Sam asked. 

“Raping his students, both the ones at the college and the seminar he taught at the high school each year. Not all of them were overage either. He would threaten to fail them if they told anyone and didn’t hesitate to follow through, using the excuse that they were just mad they were failing his class and trying to get him in trouble for it. He was Mr. Morality, so obviously he was telling the truth and would never commit such acts. I have a list two pages long of students who have killed themselves rather than face him again afterwards.”

“And his soul…it was black too?” Sam asked and Gabriel nodded. “Like a demon?” he asked curiously mind trying to puzzle something out. 

“Exactly. When a soul goes to hell, it is tortured and reshaped until it is completely blackened and then it becomes a demon. The only difference between those people and demons is the fact that they haven’t died yet and don’t have any super-human powers to speak of,” Gabriel explained. 

“So you’re basically sending hell new demons?” Sam asked wondering how that was better. 

“It’s not as bad as you’re thinking. For all but the highest level demons, getting to earth is an almost unheard of dream, and it still takes time to complete the conversion of their souls. They are going to become demons one way or another. I’m just limiting the damage they can do on earth in the meantime.”

Sam nodded. When he put it like that it did seem much better, and he could find no fault in how the trickster was choosing his victims. “Promise me you’ll never kill anyone that has even a slim hope of redemption?” Sam asked. He knew that Gabe had already said as much but he needed to hear it again, and as a promise. 

“Unless it is in self-defense and I have no other way to save myself or you, which is not likely to come up given the fact that my powers basically trump most anything in existence, but the qualification needs to be made anyway, I promise,” Gabriel said honestly. 

Sam nodded. “Then I’m good with it,” he said as he pulled Gabe in for a kiss. “I’d appreciate some time to get used to it before it’s paraded in front of me of course…I mean…if I’m still around…if you still want me…”

Gabriel cut him off. “You’re not going anywhere unless you want to. I…I love you, Sam,” he gave himself credit that he had only stammered a bit at that which was a miracle when he considered just how terrified he was of the hunter’s response to that. 

Sam just grinned and pulled him in for another kiss. “I love you too, Gabe….wait…is that even your real name?” 

Gabriel chuckled. If Sam only knew. “It’s one of many names that I go by,” he said and he felt the need to clarify something else. “You should know, Sam, that I have secrets. A lot of them. Not all of them I’m comfortable sharing, at least not now. Maybe not ever. I will never lie to you outright, but that doesn’t mean I’ll always tell you everything either. Can you live with that?” 

“I…think so?” Sam more asked than said. “I mean…I can’t promise I’ll never get pissed if you keep something important from me that I think I needed to know, but I will try to at least see your side of things and try to understand. Can you live with that?” he threw the trickster’s own question back at him. 

“Good enough for me,” Gabriel told him. He knew there would be a fuss if Sam ever found out about the whole vessels and apocalypse situation, but right now he didn’t need to know and it treaded the conversation far too close to his most closely guarded secret, so that was a definite no-go, and Sam didn’t really NEED to know. Gabriel would keep him shielded from all that now. At least as best as he could, and if it came knocking anyway, he could always tell him then. 

“Good. Now back to the name thing. If you prefer I keep calling you Gabe, I will, but can you tell me the name you identify yourself with the most?” he asked, knowing now that the question was a little trickier than it might seem on the surface. 

“Loki,” Gabriel told him honestly. He was more Loki now than he was Gabriel. 

“Loki,” Sam breathed out. “So you’re not just a random trickster demi-god, you are the actual trickster god.”

“Bingo,” Gabriel said with a grin, before sobering at something else that he felt like he should tell Sam. “So you see, that stake they had wouldn’t have killed me. Would have hurt like a bitch, yeah, but I would have been okay. You didn’t need to do what you did back there,” he said sadly. 

“Yes I did,” Sam insisted. “It didn’t matter if they couldn’t kill you. I wasn’t asking for anything unreasonable. I just wanted them to listen before they made any snap judgements. That’s all I asked, and if they were willing to abandon me for that…well that’s on them, like I said.”

“I wasn’t worth that. Worth throwing your life away,” Gabriel argued. 

“Yes. You are. Look, Gabe. I didn’t throw anything away. I never wanted to hunt. I even got out of it once. I went to college, was on my way to law school, had a wonderful girlfriend that I was about to propose to, but then Dean showed up in the middle of the night and needed my help. Like an idiot I went with him. I walked away and by the time I came back…it was too late. The demons had gotten to Jess. I lost my chance at happiness that day and I threw myself into hunting to get revenge, but also to try to forget. I was lucky enough to get another chance now, and nothing is worth giving it up. Nothing is worth giving you up, Gabe and you’ll never convince me otherwise.”

“You could have had it all, you know. You could have gone with them, kept hunting, and I could pop in on you when you were alone or they were sleeping or even take you into a time loop and spent as much time as you wanted together. It didn’t have to be either or,” Gabriel pointed out. He wanted to make sure everything was on the table. 

“Yes it did. I couldn’t have lived like that. Always lying, always hiding, and I would never ask you to do the same. I want to be able to tell the world how much I love you and I never could have done that if I had left with them,” Sam told him. “Never say you’re not worth it Gabe. You’re worth everything. At least to me.”


	8. Chapter 8

12 Hours Earlier:

Dean and Bobby sped away from the college campus and made their way back to South Dakota. They had plans to meet back up at Bobby’s house and regroup. Part of Dean wanted to be back out there on the road, trying to forget about this whole mess, but Bobby asked him to come and he owed Bobby more than he’d ever owed anyone ever other than…never mind. Best not to think of him. 

Bobby was glad that he rode separately. It gave him a chance to plan what he was going to say to Dean. He knew better than most that coming at Dean from an opposing stance would just have him shutting down and digging in his heels. He didn’t agree with leaving Sam behind like that, and he didn’t think that the younger hunter’s insistence that they just listen was that unreasonable. It may have come to a fight after that, but it didn’t have to. Not like that. The only reason he left was so that he would have a chance to reason with the stubborn hunter. If he had stayed, he would have lost any chance at reconciling this. If he had spoken up for Sam, same result. He was biding his time. He was going to come at Dean to fix this and if that didn’t work, well he would be damned if he gave up either of his boys without a fight. He still had a phone and he would talk to Sam on the sly if he had to. Hopefully Dean would come to his senses at least a little bit on the long drive. 

Once they got back to Bobby’s, the old hunter poured them each a double shot of whiskey and once that was downed, he poured another before he started talking. “I don’t know about this whole you shutting your brother out thing.”

“I have to Bobby. I can’t…can’t watch him become what we all fear. Dad said that I would either have to save him or kill him. I’ve been trying to save him but I keep losing a little more ground all the time. It’s not just this one thing. There have been a lot of little things, but they add up. Actually being willing to condone murder…that was just the last straw. I obviously can’t save him, I can’t bring myself to kill him, but I can’t watch him fall further and further down that hole. I just can’t.”

“Your father was a complete nutjob who had no business putting something like that on you and more importantly no business thinking any less of Sam for anything. He’s a better man than your daddy could ever hope to be,” Bobby said heatedly. 

“You don’t see what I see Bobby. You want to think the best of Sam and I did too, but you haven’t seen it get steadily worse. He forced us to let a nest of vamps go, because they had ‘sworn off human blood’. I tried to tell him that wouldn’t last. People were going to get hurt but he didn’t care. He keeps sticking up for the psychics. He feels a kinship with them even though they always go bad. And I tried to kid myself too that he was stronger than them. That just because all of them do doesn’t mean that he does. You know the demons have been working on him through these visions. He’s supposed to be one of their army. He says he doesn’t want to be but every step he takes down this road gets him one step closer and I can’t watch it. I won’t watch it. End of story,” he said with a note of finality and Bobby knew that he wasn’t going to budge, no matter what he or anyone else said. 

“Alright. I’ll drop it,” Bobby said gruffly, wisely not promising to keep away from Sam himself. He wasn’t sure if Dean had noticed that and was ignoring it, or if he just hadn’t noticed. Either way he wasn’t complaining. He waited until Dean had passed out before going outside and calling Sam. 

 

Sam was still trying to wrap his head around everything when he heard his phone ring. He pulled it out of his pocket and stared at the caller id for a second. “You want me to…” Gabriel asked holding out his hand for it. 

“Nah. I should get it,” Sam said tentatively. 

“Ok just let me do one thing real quick,” Gabriel said pulling it out of his hand and answering only to say, “You upset him again and I will introduce you to the concept of just desserts live and in person,” before handing the phone to Sam. 

“Bobby?” Sam said hopefully, once he got the phone back. “Sorry about that…”

“Don’t be. It was justified,” Bobby told him. “I need to explain something to you first and then we need to have a little talk. I left with your brother to try to talk some sense into him. I didn’t speak up for you because you know as well as I do that he would never have listened to a word I said if I had. As far as I’m concerned you’re still my boy and whether I agree with your decisions or not, that’s not gonna change.”

Sam could feel the tears welling up in his eyes and waved Gabe off when he started getting indignant about it. “Thanks Bobby. Really. That…that means a lot.” Gabriel unruffled his feathers at that. Seemed it was good tears then. That was okay. 

“Now that’s out of the way…you heard the trickster out yet?” Bobby asked. 

“Yeah. I did,” Sam said tentatively. 

“You need me to come back out and help you I’m there. Just say the word.”

“No. It’s good. The people he kills…well…”

“Hey you ain’t got to tell me. I know well as anybody that there’s more human monsters in the world than non-human ones. If you’re satisfied then I trust your judgement,” Bobby told him. 

“Really?” Sam asked shocked. 

“O’course. The biggest disservice your daddy ever did you boys was have you looking everywhere for the non-human monsters and convincing you that the human ones didn’t exist. You got the biggest heart I ever met. If you’re good with it then so am I.”

“Did you know how demons are made?” Sam asked wanting Bobby to actually understand, not just accept because he did. 

“Can’t say that I do.”

“Human souls go to hell and are mutilated until they are black. Did you know that gods can see souls?” he asked. Sam wasn’t going to go into all the details, but he wanted to get this point across. 

“So you’re saying he kills the people with black demon souls?” Bobby asked. 

“Exactly. If they have any light left, no matter how small, he just teaches them a lesson and lets them go,” Sam told him. 

“Then he’s got my vote. The more monsters, of any kind, off the street the better. I would tell you to make sure he treats you right but if the way he answered the phone is any indication, I think he’s got that part covered.”

Sam smiled up at Gabriel who was still watching for the first sign of trouble. “Yeah, I think you’re right about that.” He paused for a minute not sure if he wanted an answer to his next question or not, but he couldn’t help but ask it anyway. “Does Dean know we’re talking?”

“Nope. And I ain’t telling him. None of his business. He needs to pull his head out of his ass before he gets permanent brain damage. I tried kid. I really did.”

“I know Bobby. And thanks. No need to alienate him completely,” Sam said letting him know that it was okay. 

“And if you ever want to come visit just give me a heads up and I’ll try to make sure he don’t come around. Or I can meet you somewhere. I’m guessing the trickster can just pop you anywhere he wants so don’t be a stranger. And keep your phone on you,” Bobby ordered. 

“I will. I might change the number depending on what Dean does, but if I do I’ll let you know,” Sam told him. He wasn’t really worried about Dean harassing him, but if he told his story to other people, they might. And if he didn’t hear from Dean before too much longer it might be easier to just change the number and then at least part of him can be convinced that Dean wants to talk to him and just doesn’t have his new number. 

“You do that. And you take care of yourself boy,” Bobby told him. 

“You too Bobby. And try to keep Dean out of too much trouble too if you could,” Sam said with a sad smile as he hung up the phone.


	9. Chapter 9

“So all good then?” Gabriel asked. 

“Yeah. It’s all good. Bobby’s still with me and he’s trying to talk Dean around,” Sam told him. 

“It would have been nice for him to tell you before he left and let you think he hated you,” Gabriel grumbled. 

“Yeah. I know. But if he had then he wouldn’t have any chance of getting through to Dean. I don’t like it, but I get it,” Sam told him. Gabriel just huffed in response. Sam decided it was best to change the subject as he looked around the room. “So is this really what your apartment looks like?” Sam asked skeptically. It was a nice apartment for a janitor, but not for a god. 

“Not usually. Had to fit the janitor gig and I figured it would be better for you to be someplace familiar while you were upset,” Gabriel told him.

“Thank you,” Sam said touched by the fact. “You can change it back now though.” Sam’s jaw dropped as his surroundings changed. There was a large elegant fireplace, marble floors, Sam could swear some of the smaller fixtures were gold. All in all, it was the height of luxury. Even the couch he was sitting on was some of the softest leather he’d ever experienced. “Wow,” was all he could say. 

“Yeah. You would never have believed a janitor lived here,” Gabriel joked. He figured that something would be said about that whole act and wanted to get it out in the open. 

“You’re definitely right about that,” Sam said still looking around in awe. 

Gabriel had enough of waiting for Sam to bring it up so he just came out and asked. “Doesn’t it bother you that I pretended to be a janitor and lied to you for so long?” 

“Well I’d be kind of a hypocrite if it did,” Sam pointed out. “I lied to you all that time too. As long as we have honesty going forward it can stay in the past.”

Gabriel had to admit that Sam had a point. The very point that he had been prepared to make actually. He just hadn’t expected the hunter to be so reasonable about it. The fact that he knew the truth the whole time didn’t mean anything. “Good enough for me.”

“So…um…where are we?” Sam asked nervously. This was the question he really needed and answer to right now. He felt so up in the air and disconnected that he needed to know where he was going from here. 

“This apartment can be anywhere I want it to be at any given time,” Gabriel said misunderstanding what Sam was asking. 

“No. I mean…are we…living together now…where are we…you know…in the relationship…if it is a relationship, I mean,” he didn’t want to assume anything. Sure ‘I love yous’ had been exchanged but that didn’t necessarily mean anything. 

Gabriel sighed. He thought all this part had been sorted already. He sat back down next to Sam. “Sam, I love you, and I want whatever you’re willing to give. You want to live with me, please do. We can make the apartment anywhere you want it to be and just move it as needed. As far as I’m concerned, this is it.”

“Yeah. I…I want to live here,” Sam assured Gabe who grinned at him. “Do you think maybe we could put it in Sioux Falls for now? In the city itself, not too near Bobby, but he’s really the only family I’ve got left so it would be nice to be somewhat close to him.”

“Sure thing Samsquatch.”

Sam gave a half grin, half eye roll at the nickname as he said, “And I’ll need to go shopping. All my stuff was with Dean. I don’t even have a change of clothes,” he said sadly as his new status crept back into his mind. 

“I can just snap up anything you need, but if you want to go shopping we can do that too,” Gabriel told him. 

Sam bit his lip for a minute as he considered something. He wouldn’t put it past Dean to cancel all his fake credit cards…or even report him for having them in the first place. “Yeah it would probably be better to just ‘snap up’ some stuff.”

“I didn’t say what would be better. I said what you want,” Gabriel said pointedly, having noticed Sam’s disappointment. 

“It doesn’t matter. Dean’s going to kill all my credit cards anyway if he hasn’t already. I can’t afford to go shopping,” Sam said bitterly.

Gabriel rolled his eyes. “Here,” Gabriel said handing Sam a credit card with the name Sam Winchester on it. When Sam started to protest, Gabriel said, “I have more money than I could ever spend, even with having forever to spend it. And it still just keeps earning interest. Just take the damn card, Sam.”

Sam couldn’t help but chuckle at that, and his own ridiculousness. Of course Gabe was rich. Some part of his brain was still thinking of him as a janitor. “Okay. Once we’re in Sioux Falls I know the perfect place to go.”

“We’re already there kiddo,” Gabriel said with a smug smile. “In the apartment complex off the town square. Appropriate illusions have been placed of us moving in and everything.”

“Oh. Right. Okay. So…um…you wanna come with me?” he asked. 

“Try and stop me,” Gabriel said with a chuckle. No way was he going to let Sam shop by himself. There was no telling what he would come back with. 

They walked since the whole reason Sam wanted to go shopping so badly was because he needed to be out in the world. To make sure it was still real. He was still real. Gabriel had pulled up a map of the city in his head when Sam decided to settle here so he got a clue where they were going about halfway there. “Oh no. Tell me we are not going where I think we’re going.”

“What? Wal-Mart has some nice stuff,” he said defensively. 

“No. Wal-Mart has cheap stuff. Come on. I know a better place,” Gabriel said pulling Sam’s hand and changing direction leading them to the mall. Sam needed more than clothes and this way they wouldn’t have to walk all over town. First they went to J.C. Penny for casual clothes, and Sam grinned at the selection. Contrary to popular belief, he wasn’t a huge fan of plaid. Dean was though and expected Sam to be. Plus, it was good to hide stains and hunting was a very messy business. Once Sam was decked out in a good casual wardrobe, Gabriel led him to an upscale men’s store for suits (Gabriel insisted on Armani), and even one tuxedo (because everyone needs at least one just in case). Sam tried to put up a protest at the powder blue ruffled tux Gabriel wanted to get him, but he wouldn’t hear of it. Sam finally just sighed and went with it. He could always refuse to wear it. 

Sam was surprised that, other than the powder blue tux and the general items he needed in his wardrobe, Gabe didn’t push anything in particular on Sam. He didn’t think he’d ever been shopping without a constant commentary about what he should get. There was some good-natured joking about some of the stuff, but Gabe’s input was more along the lines of, ‘you should get a couple more shirts’ or ‘you need some business suits and a tuxedo just in case’. It was refreshing. He’d always had people telling him what he should get, not that he ever really cared that much, but he felt like it was setting the tone for their relationship. When he and Jess and gotten together, she had given him a full make-over, but Gabe just wanted him to pick what he liked. He did point out any major fashion faux pauxs, but if Sam still wanted it, he didn’t care. 

Clothing done, they made a quick stop at the drug store for the essentials before Gabriel dragged Sam to the electronics store. Gabriel had the most up to date entertainment system in existence, but he’d never had much use for a computer. He knew how much Sam wanted a laptop though so the picked out the best laptop they could, and even got Sam one of those new smartphones along with a new number. Sam would disconnect his old phone later. This one was still on an account with Dean anyway. Gabriel got a cell phone too, never having had a use for one in the past, but Sam wanted him to have one. 

They hit the food court for lunch, and Gabriel eyed a couple of the jewelry stores surrounding it, before he put the thought out of his mind. It was too soon for that. After lunch they detoured to the pet store, stocking up on stuff for the dog since Sam mentioned wanting to keep it and ended up walking out with another dog too that Sam just fell in love with. He insisted on naming this one though, not really approving of Gabe’s name for their other dog. 

When they got home, Sam saw just how handy Gabriel’s powers could be as all their stuff was put away with just a snap of his fingers and they introduced Oreo and the yet to be named puppy. Sam just couldn’t decide on a name for the little guy. They did make sure to get another male though so they didn’t have any puppy accidents later on and Sam pulled out his new computer to start setting it up while Gabriel just watched the scene, wondering how all this had happened. How he had become so domestic and how surprised he was at how much he loved every bit of it.


	10. Chapter 10

Later that night when Sam started yawning he got up to go to bed and Gabriel followed him. He knew that Sam probably wasn’t up to sex right now, but he still wanted to lay down with him. Sam smiled brightly at Gabe as he laid down in the bed and held out an arm for Sam to join him. “Do you even sleep?” Sam asked curiously. 

“No, but I enjoy laying here with you,” Gabriel told him, earning him a loving kiss. 

“Just don’t feel like you have to stay if you get bored,” Sam told him, snuggling into his lover’s arms and remembering how Gabe would always go out in the middle of the night. 

“Only if you promise to go back to sleep if I get up,” Gabriel said good-naturedly. 

“Well now that I know that no mugger or attacker will get the best of you while you’re out wandering around, I’ll be good,” Sam joked.

“You’re an idiot,” Gabriel said fondly with a laugh. 

“Love you, Gabe,” Sam said as his eyes started to droop. 

“Love you too, my adorable idiot.”

 

Over the next couple months, Sam and Gabriel settled into a routine. One door in the apartment always opened up to Sioux Falls, and the other to wherever Gabriel happened to be working that week. He left Sioux Falls alone for the most part, not wanting to draw any attention back to their home base, but there had been a few minor incidents, no deaths though. A homophobe who called Sam a fag became impotent. A woman who decided that she would completely ignore the fact that Sam wasn’t interested and in a relationship and keep hitting on him anyway lost her hair. Little things like that. Almost always in defense of Sam in some way. 

They ended up having weekly dinners at Bobby’s as long as he didn’t have company. Thanks to Dean, Sam was pretty much anathema in the hunter world, so Bobby kept their continued friendship secret, with Sam’s whole-hearted agreement. He wouldn’t want Bobby to be targeted for his sake or to get to him. Bobby didn’t offer news on Dean, but when Sam asked, Bobby told him what he knew. It turned out Dean was running with Ellen’s daughter Jo now and they were an item. Sam was glad his brother had found happiness. He just wished he could share it with him. 

Everything was going well, with the exception of hunters being on the lookout for Sam of course, but given that they were based in Sioux Falls, long considered Bobby’s territory, there wasn’t much danger. Then one night when Gabriel got home from some early morning business, Sam was gone. Gabriel immediately seized up with worry which got even worse when he found that he couldn’t sense Sam either. He grabbed his phone, suddenly glad that Sam had made him get one and called the hunter, but it went straight to voicemail. Only the fact that Sam might try to call him on it kept it from shattering against the wall as Gabriel paced. Sam wouldn’t just leave like that. Not without a word or a note or anything. Besides, Sam couldn’t keep Gabriel from sensing him. Whatever had him was powerful. 

Adding to his worry was the fact that if Sam was conscious he would pray. That was why he’d told Sam about his Loki identity. So he would know who to pray to. He tuned into both that and the Gabriel prayer channel just in case in his panic he called for Gabe. Not even god himself could block prayer and Gabriel would be able to follow the prayer to Sam. He paced angrily as he waited for Sam to wake up and pray. 

 

When Sam woke up in a strange place he was instantly on alert. He thought about praying to his lover, but wanted to get some idea of what was going on first. He could always pray later if he got in trouble. The first person he found was Andy and while they were trying to figure out what was going on they heard screaming and followed it to find Ava locked in a shed. They met up with two other people and Sam started getting a bad feeling. They were all Azazel’s ‘special kids’. It was time to pray. 

Gabriel was still pacing three hours later when he heard a prayer come through from Sam and he immediately disappeared and reappeared at Sam’s side. “Oh thank god,” he said with relief as he pulled Sam into a kiss, ignoring the other people present. He could sense they had powers, but nothing that could touch either of them as long as he was there. “I came home and you were gone and I couldn’t sense you so I’ve been waiting for you to pray so I could find you,” Gabriel babbled once he let Sam go. 

“I’m right here Gabe. I’m okay,” Sam assured him and when he glanced up he noticed the other four looking at him alarmed. “Um…yeah…this is…”

“Loki,” Gabriel cut in. He wanted them to know exactly who they were dealing with. 

“The Norse god of mischief?!” Andy exclaimed. “Awesome!”

Gabriel noticed the shorter girl glaring at him and he glared right back. He could see how black her soul was and knew that she had something to do with all this. She wasn’t the ring-leader, obviously, but she was playing some part. “Now why don’t you call whoever you’re working for so we can settle this once and for all,” he hissed at her. 

“She’s not…” Sam started to defend her. He knew Ava. She couldn’t have anything to do with this. 

“I can see her soul, Sammy. She has something to do with this,” Gabriel cut him off again. 

“No…” Sam said shaking his head in disbelief. “How…how bad?”

“Almost too far gone, but not quite,” Gabriel told him. 

“What is going on here?” Jake asked. 

“I think that’s what we would all like to know,” Gabriel said not removing his glare from Ava. He had an idea, at least of who was behind it, but he didn’t know nearly as much as he wanted to. 

Ava knew she was in over her head with the god, so she did the only thing she could. She called Azazel. “You’re playing with things beyond your scope little pagan,” a voice drawled from behind them. 

“You have no idea of my scope Azazel,” Gabriel snarled as he spun to face him, drawing a blade he hadn’t used in a millennia. 

The demon’s eyes widened. “Where did you…”

Gabriel cut his voice off. He would never live to tell another soul, but he couldn’t have him spilling his secrets to the world. With a demon this high up on the food chain it was the easiest thing to kill him with, though and he would take no chances here. The fight that followed was fast and brutal, powers being thrown around like confetti. Ava had tried to call for help to take down the others while Loki was distracted, but the help that arrived was low level enough that Gabriel just threw out a hand and smote them before they got close, not losing a stride in his battle with Azazel. 

Sam watched his lover fight in awe. He couldn’t believe how skilled he was. He hadn’t even noticed the other demons coming up behind him until Gabe had already killed them and then he turned to see the look on Ava’s face and he knew she called them. When she started raising a hand, he had no idea what she was about to do, but he wasn’t about to let her do it. He grabbed her wrist and wrenched her arm behind her, pulling her other arm along with it before knocking her unconscious. He would let Gabe decide what to do with her when he had a chance, but in the meantime she couldn’t do any damage. 

It seemed like forever, but was in reality only about twenty minutes before Gabriel’s blade went through Azazel’s chest and he was left as a burnt out shell. He turned back to the gathered group to make sure they were none the worse for wear, not always being able to control the stray blasts. When he saw the unconscious girl at Sam’s feet he raised an eyebrow at the hunter, getting an answering shrug. Gabriel snapped his fingers and she disappeared. “Where’d you send her?” Sam asked curiously. 

“A little alternate dimension that will hopefully straighten her out when she comes back,” was all the answer Sam got. If he pressed for more he would tell him later, but not in front of others. “Come on. Let’s go home,” Gabriel said reaching out a hand for Sam. 

“What about them?” Sam asked gesturing to the other three still standing there. 

“You guys need a lift back where you came from?” he asked. He hadn’t even spared a thought for any of them, but if Sam wanted him to help then he would. 

“Yeah. That’d be great,” Jake said. 

“Do you think you could do anything about these powers?” Lilly asked hopefully. 

“They should have disappeared when he died,” Gabriel told them.

Lilly took off her gloves and started to reach tentatively for Jake who was closest, but he jumped out of the way. “You aint’ testing that shit on me!” he exclaimed.

Sam rolled his eyes and stepped forward, holding out his hand for Lilly to shake. He trusted Gabe completely and if he said they were gone, he believed him. He believed even more when Gabe didn’t stop her from shaking his hand and a bright smile lit her face. She turned to Gabriel and said a sincere, “Thank you.”

Gabriel just nodded at her and then got the information about where they came from and sent them back there before taking Sam’s hand and taking him home.


	11. Chapter 11

Once they appeared back in their apartment Gabriel pinned Sam against the wall kissing him desperately. He would never forget the fear that he felt when Sam was gone. Gabriel moved both of his hands to the hunter’s shoulders and slowly slid Sam’s shirt off as Sam’s hands found their way under Gabriel’s shirt. Gabriel began kissing and nipping along Sam’s collarbone and when he reached the dip in the middle he ran his tongue up Sam’s throat and captured his mouth in another deep kiss as he grabbed Sam’s ass with both hands rolling his hips again pulling a moan from the hunter. 

Gabriel leaned away from Sam long enough to yank his t-shirt over his head and toss it haphazardly to the side before pressing himself back against the hunter turning his attention back to his neck as he sucked and bit a little more insistently drawing whimpering moans from Sam as the hunter’s hands moved to Gabriel’s ass and gripped tightly pulling a moan from Gabriel as well. The archangel backed them up to the bed and when Sam’s legs hit it he tumbled over pulling Gabriel with him.

Gabriel moved his over Sam’s chest pausing to flick his nipples with his tongue, bite, and suck on them while his hands teased around the waist band of Sam’s jeans causing the hunter to buck his hips up needfully. When Gabriel moved his lips to the top of Sam’s stomach the finally reached over to undo Sam’s pants. He slid them down just a little bit and began running tongue and teeth over the hard v shaped muscles leading to the hunter’s raging erection. “Ga-Gabriel…P-Please,” Sam stuttered.

Gabriel smirked. That’s what he had been waiting for. He rewarded the hunter by removing his pants the rest of the way and running his tongue roughly against the underside of Sam’s cock all the way to the tip where he lapped up the pre-cum before taking Sam all the way in his mouth. Sam’s hand immediately tangled in Gabriel’s hair as he thrust upward into the archangel’s hot mouth. Gabriel’s hands ran tantalizingly up Sam’s inner thighs as his tongue danced over all the most sensitive spots on the hunter’s dick and when a suddenly lubed finger slid in and pressed against his prostate as the hunter spilled over into Gabriel’s mouth crying his name.

Gabriel happily swallowed every drop as he continued working the hunter open and as Sam’s erection recovered he pressed open mouth kisses and sharp bites to Sam’s inner thighs and it was no time at all before Sam was hard and leaking again. Gabriel again took him in his mouth as he added a second finger to the hunter’s tight ass. By the time he had three fingers pumping Gabriel was aching from holding back. “God Gabe…in me…please…”

Gabriel flipped Sam over to his stomach and got his knees under him as he pressed slowly into the hunter before he slid an arm under Sam’s chest and easily lifted the hunter so that Sam’s back was to his chest and pressed feather light kisses to Sam’s back and shoulders while one of Gabriel’s hands ran all over Sam’s chest and the other his stomach. Gabriel slowly rolled his hips hearing Sam’s breathing become more raged as he pressed himself back insistently seeking more. Gabriel wanted to drag this out though.

This was everything Gabriel wanted. Sam pressed against him, moving together, as he explored the hunter’s body with his hands and lips. It was pure decadence and Gabriel would never get enough. He buried his face in Sam’s neck still pressing slow gentle kisses to every bit of skin his lips touched. He closed his eyes and just drank in the moment. The feel of their sweat slick bodies moving together, the hard muscles rippling beneath his hands, the slow steady rhythm that was driving them both mad, but neither made any move to change. 

Eventually though, all things must come to an end as even his angelic endurance couldn’t drag it out anymore as his pace started increasing and he began thrusting harder and faster and his hand moved from Sam’s stomach to stroke the hunter’s leaking cock. Gabriel let Sam’s name out in a soft whisper as he spilled over, Sam immediately following. Gabriel held him there for a good while with his forehead resting against the back of Sam’s shoulder, trying to wash away the visions that kept popping up of what could have happened to Sam.

Once Gabriel let go and they both collapsed on the bed, Gabriel curled up to Sam’s side. “You should get some more sleep,” he said.

“Nah I’m good. I don’t think I could sleep right now if I tried,” Sam told him. He actually felt relatively well rested, not to mention his adrenaline was still pumping, both from the ordeal and the mind-blowing sex that followed it. 

They lay there for a little while longer before it dawned on Sam that it was over. The demon that had ruined his life was dead. The thing they’d been hunting since he was six months old was gone forever. His first thought was that he needed to tell Dean. Of course, he couldn’t tell Dean, but he could tell Bobby. Bobby could get him a message. Maybe. If anyone could figure out a way to do it without breaking their cover it would be Bobby. Either way, Dean deserved to know. 

He grabbed his phone and called Bobby, but the old hunter answered the phone with a gruff, “Not a good time.”

“Sorry Bobby. I just need you to get a quick message to Dean if you can. Find a way to let him know yellow-eyes is dead.”

“Hang on a sec,” Bobby told him before Sam heard a muffled, “You and me ain’t done here boy,” followed by a slamming door before Bobby was back on the line. “Now what the hell happened?”

“Well I was abducted in my sleep this morning,” Sam started. 

Bobby snorted. “Bet that went over well.”

“You should have seen it Bobby. Gabe came in all avenging angel and fought Azazel and it was incredible. He even had a special sword. It was like something out of a storybook, but yeah. The demon is dead. For good.”

Bobby narrowed his eyes as the wheels started turning in his head. It probably wouldn’t have dawned on him if Sam hadn’t said the words ‘Gabe’ ‘avenging angel’ and ‘special sword’ together like that, but he started forming a suspicion. “When the demon died…what did it look like?” Bobby asked. 

Sam figured Bobby just wanted to make sure the demon was really dead and not just the meatsuit. “Well there was no black cloud flying away if that’s what you mean. Some bright white light was beaming from his mouth and eyes and when he fell down, his eyes were completely burnt out.”

“Balls,” Bobby said. This was the last thing he needed today. He already had too much to deal with and now he had to figure out how to handle this revelation too. He put it out of his mind. He could deal with that tomorrow. 

“What’s wrong?” Sam asked “You don’t think he’s really dead?” 

“No. I’m sure he is. It’s just something else. Look, I really want to hear more about this, but I gotta go in and deal with your jackass brother right now, so I’ll call you later, kay kid?”

“Why? What’d Dean do?” Sam asked growing alarmed. 

“Stupid bastard sold his soul. Jo got killed by a demon and he made a deal to get her back,” Bobby snapped angrily. 

Sam knew the anger wasn’t directed at him so he took no offense at it, even if offense could have taken root with the dawning horror he was feeling. “I…he…but…”

“I know kid. I know. We’ll talk later,” Bobby told him feeling bad for just dropping that on him like that. He was just so damn mad he couldn’t see straight right now and when Sam asked, it just popped out. 

Sam was left just looking at the phone in his hand like it had betrayed him and Gabriel shook off his own discomfort at the way Sam had worded things to Bobby as he asked, “You okay Samshine?” 

“Dean…he…he sold his soul,” Sam said almost inaudibly. 

Gabriel was anything but inaudible. “That complete, utter, useless MORON!” he yelled punching a wall as he paced. He had thought…hoped…that the one good thing that would come out of his falling out with Sam was that he wouldn’t end up selling his soul and this whole apocalypse business would be avoided. That hope had been further cemented when he killed Azazel. But no. Dean fucking Winchester had to screw everything up again. 

“Gabe?” Sam asked tentatively. He’d never seen his lover like this before. He’d never even heard him raise his voice. 

Gabriel forced himself to calm down. He didn’t want Sam to see him like this. He took a few centering breaths and realized that he needed to tell the hunter something important. “Okay, Sam. There’s something you need to know. When we met back at that college, I placed myself in your path for a reason. You see, the demons are trying to start the apocalypse. The first step of that is to get your brother’s soul into hell. He has to be the one to break the first seal.”

“What?!” Sam exclaimed. “But I thought I was the one they were using?” 

“You are supposed to break the last seal, but it’ll be a cold day in hell before I let that happen. Plus, I think the original plan was to use you to make him sell his soul in the first place. I had hoped…” Gabriel trailed off not sure how to say what he hoped without sounding callous. 

“That since Dean doesn’t care about me anymore it could be avoided,” Sam finished for him anyway. 

“Yeah. But now he’s on his way downstairs and once that first seal is broken, you’ll be in the hot seat. I should ward you against detection,” Gabriel suggested. 

“Do whatever you need to do, Gabe,” Sam told him. 

“Okay, but this is gonna hurt,” Gabriel warned him and waited for the nod before he placed a hand over Sam’s chest and the hunter felt like all the breath had been sucked out of him as a sharp pain stabbed through his entire chest. It only lasted for a moment though before Gabriel was stepping back and Sam was doubled over, panting as he tried to catch his breath again.


	12. Chapter 12

It was the next day before anyone heard from Bobby again and surprisingly enough it was Gabriel he called. He had insisted on having Gabriel’s number in case something happened to Sam or he wasn’t answering his phone. He didn’t know Gabriel as Loki, the archangel not being comfortable enough with him to tell him so. As he had told Bobby when he asked, names had power. Gabriel looked curiously at the caller ID when his phone rang. It wasn’t exactly a common occurrence with only two people having his number and one was in the room with him and the other had never called him. 

Gabriel answered the phone in a rather confused tone of voice. “Is something wrong with Sam’s phone?”

“No. I needed to talk to you. I figured out who you really are and you’re no trickster…Gabriel,” Bobby said stressing the name. 

“Fuck,” Gabriel said. He knew Bobby well enough to know he’d never convince him he was wrong. He was like a dog with a bone. “Hang on,” he told the old man before turning to Sam. “I’m gonna head to Bobby’s and talk to him for a bit. I’ll be back.”

“Everything okay?” Sam asked worriedly. 

“Yeah. You remember how I told you I had secrets?” Sam nodded. “He just figured out my biggest, most closely guarded secret somehow.”

“And you’re going to talk to him about it?” Sam asked, hurt. 

“I will talk to you about it when I get home, but I don’t want you to have to hear about it by half of a conversation. If anyone is going to know, then you will too. I promise. Just give me a little while to get a handle on this one.”

“Okay,” Sam said reluctantly. He could understand that. Gabriel wanted to tell him alone, but he needed to deal with Bobby first. He didn’t like it, but he understood. 

“You know what? On second thought, come on. Best to only explain once,” Gabriel said reaching out a hand for Sam who took it with an encouraging smile. He could see how uncomfortable Gabe was and wanted to make him feel better. 

They reappeared next to Bobby just in time for Gabriel to get whacked in the head with a fireplace poker. “How many times have I told you to warn me before you do that you idgit!” It was almost a comic routine by now. The fireplace poker didn’t hurt Gabriel any, but it made Bobby feel better after being startled out of his wits and Sam thought it was hilarious so Gabriel made no moves to change it. It’s not like he couldn’t heal the old man if he ever actually had a heart attack. 

Once Bobby had controlled his racing heart, he hung up the phone that was still in his hand. “He know?” Bobby asked gesturing to Sam. 

“Not yet, but he’s about to, so just go ahead and spill,” Gabriel said helplessly. 

“You’re the archangel Gabriel,” Bobby accused. 

“Obviously,” Sam said and Gabriel and Bobby both gaped at him for a second. 

“What?” Sam asked highly amused at the looks on their faces and the fact that he got one over on them. “You think I’m gonna shack up with a god and not do my research? I’ve seen you do some stuff that was beyond what any pagan god was capable of. The name you use to hide among humans was the biggest clue as to what exactly you were. When you pulled out the sword yesterday and the way the demon died, there was no more doubt.”

“You didn’t say anything…” Gabriel said confused. 

“I figured you didn’t want me to know for some reason. I was gonna wait until you were ready to tell me,” he said with a shrug. 

“Why do you use that name anyway if you don’t want people to know?” Bobby asked dumbfounded. 

“Because it’s so obvious. If someone is trying to hide who they are they change their name. No one would look for the ‘dead archangel Gabriel’ in someone using the name Gabriel. It’s worked for millennia until you two,” he grumbled. 

“So you’re supposed to be dead?” Sam asked. 

“As far as heaven, hell, and anyone else connected to either, the archangel Gabriel died about the time Lucifer corrupted the garden. And it needs to stay that way,” he said firmly looking at both of them. 

“Why?” Bobby asked confused. 

“Because heaven started looking too much like hell. For me at least. Father left and everyone wanted someone to blame. Lucifer fell and that left me. I’ve always been rather…boisterous. Very unlike any other angel who all have sticks stuck so far up their ass they get brain damage. Still. They were my brothers and they turned on me. I couldn’t stay there anymore, but they would never let me go and wreak my havoc on the earth, so I faked my death and ran. Been running ever since.”

“So when you tracked us down over the whole apocalypse thing…you decided to stop running?” Sam asked. 

“Nope. I was just curious. I wanted to know more about the brothers that would end the world. Then you made things all complicated and there is no way in heaven or hell that I’ll let them have you now. So yeah. I’m in it now. Still hoping I can stay in it anonymously though.” 

“So heaven is working for this whole apocalypse thing too,” Bobby surmised. 

“Yeah. It’s their big end game. The final showdown between heaven and hell, winner takes the earth. Or what’s left of it anyway,” Gabriel told them. 

“So both of the boys are supposed to have roles to play in this thing?” Bobby asked, surmising as much from Gabriel’s statement about the two brothers ending the world. 

“Yep. Dean’s deal is the starting bell. He goes to hell, breaks the first seal, then the head demon pops up to the earth to break some more until Sammy here is supposed to break the last one by killing her,” Gabriel laid out the general plan. 

“Is there anything you can do?” Sam asked hopefully. 

“The only one we can stop at this point is the last one. We keep you out of this fight completely. Keep you hidden and well away from Lilith,” Gabriel said. 

“So you can’t get Dean out of this god-forsaken deal?” Bobby asked. 

“Even if I wanted to, which after the way he’s treated Sam is a very big if, I couldn’t. Even an archangel can’t trump free will and Dean sold his soul of his own free will,” Gabriel told him. 

“Ok, then what about stopping this Lilith chick from breaking other seals?” Sam asked. 

“She only has to break sixty-four out of six hundred and sixty-four. Knowing which ones she’ll be going for when is going to be impossible and even if we manage to stop some of them she had hundreds more to choose from. No. Sam is in the hot seat now and believe me if there was any way I could keep him out of it I would do it in heartbeat.”

“Well we have time at least. I mean, demon deals are ten years so…”

“He only got a year,” Bobby cut Sam off. 

“He what!?” Sam exclaimed. 

“That makes sense. They wouldn’t want to wait too long, but they had to give him something to make it seem worthwhile. A standard contract is ten years, but that doesn’t mean new contracts can’t be negotiated with prize souls like your brother. And your father for that matter. If I remember correctly, his deal came due immediately,” Gabriel explained. 

Sam sighed heavily. “So we have a year before the beginning of the end.”

“Pretty much,” Gabriel said despondently. 

“So backing up a bit, I get that you were in hiding and all that, but don’t you think we should have known at least that you’re an archangel instead of just a trickster? At least Sam should have known,” Bobby brought the conversation back around to where it started. 

“I don’t think you understand just how much in hiding I was. Other than me, there are now two beings in existence that know that Gabriel isn’t dead. That’s it. I haven’t been Gabriel in a long time. I’m more Loki now than Gabriel.”

“Loki?!” Bobby exclaimed. “So even when you were the trickster you weren’t just a trickster?” Bobby was beginning to understand the layers of protection that Gabriel had hidden himself under. 

“Exactly,” Gabriel said smugly. 

“And that one I did know,” Sam pointed out. He appreciated Bobby fighting for his right to know, but wanted to nip it in the bud. It didn’t matter what Gabe used to be or what his real name or species was. He was still the man that Sam had fallen in love with and he didn’t want to press him to share anything he wasn’t comfortable with.


	13. Chapter 13

While they never managed to forget about the tightening noose over the course of the next year, they didn’t let it interfere with their lives. Sam ended up using Gabriel’s library to become an adjunct researcher for hunters, always going through Bobby of course. Whenever the old hunter got stuck, he called Sam, and if Sam couldn’t find the answer, he asked Gabriel. Either way, the hunters got their answer and no one ever knew that the ‘abomination and his monster’ were involved. 

Gabriel looked in on Dean from time to time, invisibly of course, to make Sam feel better, and if the hunter suffered brief bouts of rashes, or losing things, or things breaking during those visits, well that was just his bad luck. For the most part, Gabriel just kept to his usual job, sometimes letting Sam help him come up with the punishments, or at least spark an idea since Sam would never be as ruthless as Gabriel was. 

Gabriel had informed Sam that Dean and Jo were working like mad to find a way to get him out of his deal, but assured Sam that it was useless. For Sam’s sake only, he would step in if there was a way. Gabriel wasn’t there when Dean’s deal came due, partially because Sam didn’t want to know the details, and partially because Gabriel didn’t want to risk being sensed by the hellhounds or any demons that may be watching invisibly. 

Sam and Bobby both wanted to be informed when the first seal broke, since Gabriel had told them he would sense it when it did, and he did let them know, along with the fact that angels would be pulling Dean out of hell soon. As such, Bobby was expecting the call he got and he helped Dean track down Jo, who unfortunately had been killed by an angry vamp the month before. Seems his deal hadn’t bought her long. 

Bobby tried to warn Dean about the angels having another agenda, but like the demons, they used Jo against him too. Promising to bring her back if he did as he was told and kept his head down. Dean felt backed into a corner and what else could he do. He had sold his soul and endured forty years of torture for her to live. What was jumping through a few hoops dictated by the angels?

It was almost a year after Dean was resurrected and there was one seal left. The one Sam had to break. They should have anticipated Lilith’s move. In hindsight it was so obvious. Maybe that’s why they hadn’t seen it. She had somehow found out the one person in the outside world that Sam kept in contact with. Sam and Gabriel were having breakfast with Oreo and Skye barking at their feet as they wrestled when Gabriel tensed up and froze fork halfway to his mouth as he heard the prayer coming through. “Gabriel, you better get your ass over here you idgit. This demon bitch got me and wants to use me to get to Sam.”

“Fuck!” Gabriel exclaimed jumping to his feet. “Don’t leave the apartment until I get back. No matter what. You hear me Sam?” 

“Why? What’s going on?” Sam asked alarmed. 

“Lilith took Bobby for leverage. She’s trying to force you to break the seal. I’ll be back. Just sit tight and don’t let anything take you from here. You’re warded up tighter than heaven in this apartment,” Gabriel summed up succinctly. He had warded their home as tightly as he could after Azazel abducted Sam from his bed. 

“Hurry. Be careful. And bring him back,” Sam said kissing him hard and fast. 

“I will. On all counts,” Gabriel said as he disappeared, “I love you,” echoing through the room in his wake. 

“I love you too, Gabe. Be safe,” Sam whispered to the empty room. 

 

Gabriel appeared right next to Lilith and didn’t take any chances with small talk on this one. He brandished his blade and set to work, putting a permanent binding so that she could never leave her vessel. The fight that followed was even more brutal than the one with Azazel and Bobby could see what Sam had meant by ‘avenging angel’. 

This one was a little more complicated for Gabriel. He knew that Sam was supposed to be the one to break the seal so that he could house Lucifer when he was raised, but he wasn’t sure if anyone could break the seal with her death so he couldn’t risk killing her. He had a plan though, a hastily formulated one in the heat of battle, but a plan just the same. He saw an opening and removed one of her arms, which he promptly banished to a random dimensional rift. 

Just as he did so, Dean and Gabriel’s little brother Castiel came crashing through the door. Castiel had apparently had a change of heart and brought Dean to rescue Bobby. Even with one arm, Lilith wasn’t exactly an easy opponent so Gabriel couldn’t pay them much attention. “Trickster!” Dean exclaimed seeing who was fighting Lilith. 

At the same time, Castiel murmured in awe, “Gabriel…”

Dean did a double take at him before the pieces clicked into place. Gabriel huffed in annoyance at them standing there gaping at him like idiots. “Get Bobby out of here!” he yelled, not missing a stride in his battle. 

That got Dean jumping into movement, just as Gabriel removed one of Lilith’s legs, it too disappearing into a random dimensional rift. From there it was less than a minute before she was just a head and torso and Gabriel materialized another sword, knowing that if he cut her head off with his archangel blade, it would kill her. Head and torso also went off to parts unknown. Gabriel had deliberately not paid attention to where he sent any of the parts so even he couldn’t put her back together and no one but an archangel could navigate the dimensional rifts to retrieve her even if they knew where she was. 

Dean had just barely gotten Bobby untied and to his feet before the fight was over and Gabriel walked over. Apparently Bobby had put up one hell of a fight because he didn’t look so good. “Thanks for coming, Gabe,” Bobby said gratefully. 

Gabriel held out a hand for Bobby to shake and as he did, the old hunter’s body glowed lightly for a moment as he was healed. “How you doing, old man?” he asked amusedly. Apparently Bobby wanted to rub it in Dean’s face that they had been in contact now that he, unavoidably, knew the truth. 

“Who you calling old?” Bobby joked with the air of one who’d had this same conversation many times. 

Gabriel looked around at the others, sneering slightly. “Well this was fun,” he looked back at Bobby. “You need a lift home?” 

“Gabriel…brother…” Castiel said helplessly. 

“What?” Gabriel said cooly.

“You have been working against the apocalypse?” Castiel asked awed that anyone else could possibly rebel. 

“I’ve always been working against the apocalypse. I happen to like humanity, you know,” he snapped. 

“Yeah, like to torture and kill them,” Dean snapped back at him. 

“You know nothing,” Gabriel growled. 

“Enough,” Bobby said firmly. “This is not the time or the place for this and quite frankly, I don’t want to hear it.” He turned to Gabriel, “Why don’t you drop me off at home and then get home to Sam before he goes out of his mind with worry?” he suggested. Gabriel nodded curtly and clapped a hand on Bobby’s shoulder doing as he asked. 

As Gabriel appeared back in the apartment, landing next to Sam on the couch, the hunter jumped, too on edge not to react to the sudden appearance, despite having gotten used to them a long time ago. “How did it go? How’s Bobby? What happened with Lilith?”

“It went fine. Bobby is fine. Got banged up pretty good, but I healed him. Lilith is in pieces scattered across dimensions. No one will ever be able to put her back together again so the final seal with stay intact forever.” Sam gave a sigh of relief. “Incidentally, I did run into your brother and one of mine, so my identity is out,” Gabriel shrugged like it didn’t bother him, but Sam knew better.

“You okay?” he asked sympathetically. 

“Nothing I can do about it now,” Gabriel grumbled. 

“That’s not what I asked,” Sam said gently. 

“I don’t know,” Gabriel said defeated. “I don’t know if I’m okay. I’m too exhausted to really process right now.” 

“What do you need from me?” Sam asked. 

“Just be here.”

“Always.” Gabriel leaned into Sam and the hunter pulled him tight, resting his cheek on Gabriel’s head where it fell on his shoulder. It wasn’t long before Sam fell asleep and Gabriel transferred them to the bed where Sam just pulled him closer. It was the middle of the night before Gabriel had enough energy to get up and he headed out to do something that he’d been intending to do all along as soon as the threat wasn’t hanging over their heads anymore. 

He was only gone for an hour before he was snuggling back in next to Sam for a few more hours. He woke Sam the next morning with breakfast in bed before falling to one knee next to the bed and saying, “I’ve never known anyone like you, Sam. You complete me in a way I never thought possible. When you stood up for me in that auditorium, that was the first time anyone had ever stood up for me before in all the billions of years I’ve been alive. No one has ever gotten through my defenses at all, much less in just three days like you did. I love you, Sam, more than life itself. Will you marry me?” 

Gabriel snapped his fingers to clean up the breakfast that got dumped all over the bed in Sam’s rush to Gabriel’s arms. In hindsight it probably wasn’t the best idea to put breakfast on top of him before doing that, but the yes from Sam made it not matter in the slightest.


End file.
